Did you see that?
April 30, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
It's only the end of April. But a number of Michigan's contenders already are in championship form.
Check out our best of results, news and notes from the week that was April 23-28.
Boys Track
What a toss: Walled Lake Central junior Cullen Prena tossed the discus an incredible 187 feet, seven inches, to win the event at the Oxford Invitational by nearly 36 feet. In fact, the toss would've won every MHSAA Final dating back to 2003. Earlier in the week he broke the Oakland County record as well. He also won the shot put at Oxford. (Oakland Press)
Girls Track
South still on top: Reigning MHSAA Division 1 champion Grosse Pointe South earned a strong early win at the Michigan State Spartan Invitational ahead of a field that included annual powers Rockford and Williamston and a strong DeWitt team. Bay City Western won the boys meet. (Playmakers.com)
Baseball
Flint Final set: Goodrich’s Bob Foreback and Davison’s Timm Rye will bring more than 1,000 victories worth of experience into this season’s Greater Flint Area Baseball Tournament championship game when their teams face off on Memorial Day. The two will meet after emerging from the field this weekend. (Flint Journal)
How do you score that: Most telling lines from the Kalamazoo Gazette’s story about Comstock turning a triple play and three double plays in one game came from Comstock coach Rich Bailey: “We have not played particularly good defense. In fact, our defense has been a problem. The skill is there; the execution hasn’t been.” (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Girls Soccer
Poll position: Rochester Adams continued to affect the Division 1 rankings while moving up itself. Adams likely helped to knock rival Rochester out of this week’s honorable mentions with a 2-0 win Thursday. The Friday before, Adams downed then top-ranked Troy 4-1. The Highlanders have opened 7-0 and are ranked No. 3 in Division 1. (Oakland Press)
Boys Basketball
Flint Powers coach moves on: Tim Herman led the Flint Powers Catholic boys basketball program only seven seasons, but they were seven of the Chargers’ most memorable. Herman resigned his post last week after more than 100 wins and the team’s only MHSAA championship, in Class B in 2009. (Flint Journal)
Football
Michigan's finest take next step: At least nine former MHSAA athletes were drafted by NFL teams (by my count) over seven rounds Thursday through Saturday. They were:
- DE Nick Perry (Detroit Martin Luther King/University of Southern California) Green Bay, first round
- DT Mike Martin (Detroit Catholic Central/University of Michigan) Tennessee, third round
- QB Kirk Cousins (Holland Christian/Michigan State University) Washington, fourth round
- WR Keshawn Martin (Westland John Glenn/Michigan State University) Houston, fourth round
- CB Chris Greenwood (Detroit Martin Luther King/Albion College) Detroit, fifth round
- S Trenton Robinson (Bay City Central/Michigan State) San Francisco, sixth round
- LB Audie Cole (Monroe/North Carolina State University) Minnesota, seventh round
- RB Edwin Baker (Oak Park/Michigan State University) San Diego, seventh round
- K John Potter (Grand Haven/Western Michigan University) New York Jets, seventh round
Editor's note: Did we miss something? Comment below and tell us about it. Is there an event coming up that we should make sure to note? Comment or e-mail [email protected].
Kearsley Girls Erase Last Year's Early Exit with 9th Title in 11 Seasons
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 1, 2024
WATERFORD — It might seem impossible that a team with eight MHSAA Finals titles over a span of 10 years would ever enter anything hungry for redemption.
But that was the case for Flint Kearsley’s girls bowling team going into the Division 2 Final on Friday at Century Bowl.
Last year, the Hornets suffered a disappointment they weren’t used to feeling, getting knocked out in the Quarterfinal round after earning the No. 1 seed during the qualifying block.
That defeat was way more on the minds of Kearsley all offseason, rather than the previous eight state titles.
“That was a debacle,” first-year Kearsley head coach Jeff Vanier said.
But that failure last year was long forgotten when this year’s competition was over, as Kearsley reclaimed its throne by beating Bay City John Glenn in the championship match, 3-1.
This was the first year of a new format in the knockout stage where the team that won three out of five Baker games was declared the winner. The previous format awarded the team with the most pins following two Baker games and a regular game.
John Glenn won the first game of the Final, 177-152, but Kearsley stormed back winning the second game 173-143, the third game 235-134 and the fourth game 165-122 to clinch its ninth title in 11 years.
The most pivotal moment for Kearsley might have come in a Quarterfinal match against Sturgis. Kearsley lost the first game (171-159) and won the second (179-145) before both teams struggled in the third game.
The Hornets ended up prevailing, 128-124, rallying after anchor bowler Ava Boggs struck out in the final frame.
“That gave us a 2-1 lead, and we went on from there,” Vanier said.
Kearsley finished off Sturgis in the fourth game, 210-165, and then recorded a three-game sweep of New Boston Huron to advance to the Final.
John Glenn was No. 1 out of the qualifying block before earning a five-game win over Marshall in the Quarterfinals and a four-game triumph over Tecumseh in the Semifinals.
“We made a lot of spares today, but when we got to the final match, we weren’t making spares,” John Glenn head coach Andy Gwizdala said. “During the Baker matches earlier in the day, we averaged 184, which means we made spares. We were consistent and made spares. That’s what we came here to do. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to finish it in the Final.”
Still, there was a lot for John Glenn to feel good about.
The Bobcats avenged losses from the Quarterfinal round of the tournament each of the last two years and don’t graduate any bowlers as they look ahead to 2024-25.
“We hope to be back next year,” Gwizdala said.